WASHINGTON, DC. NOAA announced this afternoon that it is awarding an additional $12,000 to Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution to support emergency response efforts to the largest red tide in New England since 1972.

Red tide blooms create potent neurotoxins that accumulate in filter-feeding shellfish and other parts of the marine food web. Shellfish contaminated with the red tide toxin, if eaten in enough quantity, can cause illness or death